We've secured a deal with two national housebuilders to develop our first homes in the historic city of Bath.

We've signed a £4m deal with Bloor Homes and Linden Homes for 24 affordable homes being built on the former Ministry of Defence site at Ensleigh on the outskirts of the city.

Merlin’s Head of Development Amanda Swann said: “We’re delighted to be working with Bloor Homes and Linden Homes to develop our first new homes in Bath. We already have properties in the city, but these are the first new homes that we’ll be building.

“With average rents in Bath nearly at £1,000 a month, there’s a huge demand for genuinely affordable housing. This will be a great opportunity of local people to get a place of their own at an affordable price. Most of the homes we’re building in Bath will be available for social rent, but we’ll also be offering six properties for shared ownership. We’ll have details about these on our website soon.

“These new homes are part of our commitment to investing in new homes across the area. Over the next 12 months, we’re planning to start work on 350 new affordable homes.”